Shipping crates



Feb 11, 1958 -A. ELMENDORF 2,322,971

SHIPPING CRATES; Filed Nov 12, 1954 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 5 1 077??? a? Carfer flfzorneys United States Patent SHIPPING CRATES Armin Elmendorf, Winnetka, I11. I Application November 12, 1954, Serial No. 468,183

4 Claims. (01. 229-23 l The present invention is directed to a new and improved form of shipping crate which has a relatively high strength and a relatively low weight and cost.

The function of a shipping crate is to house bulky objects such as machines during shipment so that they. may.

reach their destination safely and without injury.qThis function must be achieved at minimum cost. Adequate strength must be combined with adequate protection and these results must be achieved with minimum weight and products such as domestic appliances are in general agreement that the crates must be so constructed that they may be stacked to considerable height in warehouses without danger of collapse or crushing the contents. The frame work of the crate must be such that itwill carry the super imposed load without transferring. a substantial part'of' that load to the contents of the crate. lower tiers of a warehouse are sometimes called upon to carry several thousand pounds of other crates stacked upon them. Such loads must be carried with an adequate factor of safety. a w e Crates must be so constructed that they can also resist the vibration of a freight car without serious.lo ss of;

strength, and if roughly handled they must notbe dis-. torted out of shape to the point where the contents are. marred. Furthermore the object shipped must generally be enveloped or enclosed against dust. This isespecially true of household appliances. Such machines are shipped in crates in great numbers to long distances. The present invention is particularly suited to the shipment of ma-. chines of that type. It was developed to meet each of.

the requirements specified above and has been found by test to fulfill these requirements. It is a low cost, light; weight crate and probably combines more desirable properties than'any crate in commercial use today for.

shipping the same commodities.

- One purpose of the present invention is the provision of a fibreboard shell shipping crate which has an exceptionally strong corner construction.

Another purpose of the present invention is the provision of an improved shipping crate shell which is made offibreboard and which does not employ horizontal reinforcing wood members and still at the same time is able to handle heavy loads. Another purpose of the present invention is the provision of a novel sysem for securing a fibreboard shell to a wooden base of a shipping crate.

Other objects will appear from time to time in the course of the ensuing specification and claims. Referring generally now to the drawings:

bodying the principles of the present invention;

Crates in the Figure 2 is a sectional view of the shell of the shipping crate shown in Figure 1 when the shell is folded fiat;

Figure 3 is a sectional view of the shell when the shell is partly opened; j V

Figure 4 is a sectional view of the shell when the shell is completely open;

Figure 5 is a planview of a wooden base used in my invention;

Figure 6 is a plan view of the base and portions of the shell in assembled relation;

v Figure 7 is a sectional view which illustrates a typical corner construction employed in the invention;

may be securedin position and to the topjinsert, by any Figure 8 is a sectional view of the base and a portion of the shell in assembled relation;

" Figure 9 is a sectional view of an upper portion of the.

crate; and I 7 Figure 10 is a diagrammatic view of the shell when laid flat.

Like elements are designated by like characters throughout the specification and drawings.

Referring specifically now to the drawings and in the first instance to Figure l, I illustrate a typical shipping three parts, namely, a shell or tube 1, a base which is formed of wood 2, and a top insert 3. The shell 1 is formed from fibreboard and includes side panels 4, 5, 6,

and 7. It may be, for example, formed from a 200 to 300 pounds per square inch test (the Mullin Bursting test) corrugated board. The top insert 3 may be formed from the same material as the shell or it may be any other suit-. able material such as plywood, heavy cardboard or fibre-' board. Thetop' insert 3 has anarea conforming to the. area'and configuration of a horizontal cross-section taken, through the shell 1. It is inserted in the position shown. in Figure 1 after the object to be shipped has been placed inside of the crate. It may loosely rest on top of the objectto be shipped. After it is thus positioned, flaps 4a,

side panels 4, 5, 6 and 7 of the shell. folded over the top insert3, as shown inFigure 1, they suitable means such'as an adhesive,

The top insert '3, shelll, and wooden as separate units and they are brought together in the assembled relation shown in Figure 1, when the object to be carried, by the crate is ready for shipping.

The shell is formed from a continuous section of fibreboard. It is adapted'to be folded along'its corners so that it may rest'in a flat position as shown in Figure 2.

When it is ready for use, the shell is folded along its corners into the general rectangular shape indicated in Figure 4. At each corner of the shell, I position a wood column 8, which is adapted to extend from the base 2 to the upper portion of the crate. The side panels'of the.

shell are .scored along opposite vertical edges of the wood column 8. The inner surface of the shell between these scored portions, indicated generally at 9 may be adhesively secured to the outwardly facing side of the facing side of the column 8 as by a suitable adhesive 12.

The section 11 has a length corresponding generally to the length of the colummn and has side portions 13 and 14 terminating. adjacent the side panels 4 and 5. The

section 11 is scored along the edges 15 and 16 of the column.

It is important that the column 8 be symmetrically disposed with respect to each of the side panels 4 and 5,' and this is made possible by securing the column 8 in" Pai'tented Feb. 11, 1958 base '2 are formed,

of passing machinery. The section 1 1- and the p'ortion-9 and side panels 4 and 5 a'dtl column strength tfo the wooden column 8 to assist the crate insuperimposed loads. In the ordinary use of a crate of this type the load carried by the crate is secured to the wooden base 2. When these crates, however, are stacked on top of one another, the load of an upper crate is transmitted from the base of that crate to the shell of the crate'immediately below and to the wooden-base of that crate. When i i such a vertical load' isimposed" upon the shell of the crate, the shell tends to fail by buckling at the corners. With the construction shown in Figure7, buckling of the corner is resisted not only by the wooden column 8 but also by the panels4 and 5, portion 9, and section l'l and flanges 13 and 14. These members define what are, in"

effect, flanges extending beyond the sides of the wood column and add greatly to the column strength of the corner of the shell.

Another matter of importance in this particular type of corner structure is that it enables the panels defining each corner to be folded through 180. The shell may be folded into a flat position as shown in Figure 2 by may, under certain circumstances, be stapled tothe wood member.

In Figure 5, I illustrate the wooden base of the shipping crate. The base is made up of spaced, generally parallel wood members 21 and 22, and spaced generally parallel wood members 23, 24, and 25 extending transversely to the members 21' and 22. The outer surfaces of the members 21, 2'2,.23-,.and 25 define the outer dimensions of the box. The members 2-1 and-22 are disposed on the upper side of the base whereas the members 23, 24,.and 25 are disposed on thelower side of the base. These wood members may have a thickness on the order of'% of an inch, although this may vary considerably. They may be secured. together in the relation shown=in Figure 5 by any suitable means such as adhesive, nails or the like. It should be noted that the outer ends of the members 23 and 25 are mitred as at26 so as to conform to'the configuration of the shell.- The members 21- ting a mitre on the outer corners of the members 21 and 22, along a line generally parallel to the mitred portion 26. The notches or recesses provide a space for the reception of the vertical columns 8 so that the vertical wood columns will rest directly upon the members 25 and 23 and thus transmit any load carried by the members 8 directly to the members 23 and 25. The members 23 and 25 thus form what are in effect bearing members for transmitting the superimposed load carried by the crate.

The lower end of each side panel may be provided with a flange as at 28, 29, 3t) and 31 for securing the shell to the base. The flanges 29 and 31 are defined by a scored portion 32 which is spaced from the lower edge of the-flanges by a distance on the order of the-widthof the load-transmitting members 23 and 25. The flanges 28 and 30-for the panels 4 and 6 are separatedfrom their panels by scored portions 33' and 33 which are spaced inwardly from-the scoredportions32. The flanges 29 and 31' are adapted to be folded beneath the members 23 and 25 and adhesively thereto. The flanges 28 and 30 are adapted to be folded beneath the members 21 and 22 and may be adhesively secured to the under surface thereof. The flanges 28 and 30 are provided with intermediate portions 34 and 35 which extend over the ends of the member 24 and are folded beneath the member 24. The intermediate portions 34 and 35 are separated from the remainder of the flanges 28 and 30 by the members 23, 24, and- 25:

spaces.

When it is desired to use the crate, the load to be carried by the crate is secured to the members 21 and 22 and' theshell isunfolded from a flat position, made square or rectangular and slipped over the load. It is moved over the load so that the vertical wood columns 8 rest upon the bearing members 23 and 25. A single securing nail 36 may be driven through the wood members and into the members 21 and 22 so as to hold the shell in position: A-hydrauli'c'cylinder or pneumatic cylinder or other similar elevatingmeans for the purpose of raising the base 2 away from a suitable jig having an upper surface'with a configuration conforming to the configuration of-the lowersur-face'of the base, may be applied to In any event thecrate is elevated a distance sufliciently to enable folding of the flanges 28,- 29, and 31 beneath the woodbase. The flanges or the wood base, or both, may be coated with any suitable adhesive so that when the crate with the load therein, is lowered on to the jig, the jig presses the flanges against thelower'surfaces of the wood members 21, 22, 23, 24 and-25. The weight of the crate with the load is sufli'eient to form a secure bond between the shell and the woodenbase. The top insert 3 may then be positioned in the crate as-shown in Figure 1 and the flaps 4a, 5a, 6a and 7a'folded inwardly and secured. The top insert 3 serves to prevent the upper portion of the crate fromcaving in.- When crates are made in this fashion, they may be superimposed one ontop of the other, and may ca'rryheavy loads. The wood columns transfer the majority of the load from above to the bearing members 23 and 25, and these bearing members 23 and 25 transmit the-total load to the wood columns immediately below. I- have found by actual experiment that a two-hundredpound corrugated shell box, 29" x 26" x 36.5", with wood columns on the order as shown in the specification anddrawings will safely carry a 7000-pound vertical load, yet the shell'of'the cratewhich transmits this load weighs only 7. O8pounds. Abox of similar-dimensions but made of a 275 p'ound corrugated board will carry a greater load while'atthesame time weighing only 9.56 pounds.

WhereasI have shown and described a preferred form of my invention, I wish'it to be understood that this show ing is to be taken in an illustrative or diagrammatic sense only; There are many modifications to the invention'which' will be apparentto those skilled in the art and which will fall within the scope andspirit of the invention. The scope" of .the invention, therefore, should be limited" only by the scope of the" hereinafter appended claims;

I claim; v v I 1}. A'shippingcratei consistingof a'wood base, a collapsible-fibrebo'ard tube anda flat fi'breboard top fastened to flanges of the tube with its'co'rner's resting'on flat sided wood corner columns, the lower endsfof the columns resting in rc'essesin the wood base,.ea'ch 'woodcolumn being fastened' t'o the inside of the-tubeo'nione flat'side, the tube being scored along spaced lines aligned with the edges of the woodcolumns,.and a similarly. scored fibreboard strip fastened to the opposite sidefofeach of the wood colunms.

2. A shipping crate shell including. side panels of a continuous fibreboard, said panels having scored portions at spaced intervals t o define corners for the crate, each corner havinga flatsided wood column on the inside thereof,- each column havinginner and outeredges, said shell being jfastened toa flat; side of each column,- the scored poftions being aligned with the edges of O'neflat side of each column to provide a beveled, exposed corner for the shell, and a fibreboard strip fastened to the inwardly facing side of each column and scored along spaced lines aligned with the inner edges of each of said columns.

3. A shipping crate shell including side panels of a continuous fibreboard, said fibreboard having corners, each corner having a wood column on the inside thereof, said shell being fastened to the columns and being scored along lines aligned with opposite edges of the columns to provide a beveled, exposed corner for the shell, and a fibreboard strip fastened to the inside of each column and scored along lines generally aligned with the inside edges of said column to define flanges extending beyond the edges of said column, the side panels defining each corner being foldable generally through 180 by bending of the side panels along the scored portions.

4. A shipping crate including a multi-cornered shell formed from fibreboard and having vertically extending wood columns adhesively secured to the interior of said shell at the corners thereof, each column having inner and outer edges, said shell being scored along lines generally aligned with the outer edges of each of said wood columns to enable folding of said shell and to define beveled corners for said shell, spaced wood members received within the lower portion of said shell and adapted to carry a load positioned within said shell, said wood members being secured to said wood columns, spaced wood members positioned beneath said other wood members and secured thereto, said wood columns resting upon and being in direct, vertical bearing contact with said lower wood members so as to transmit a vertical load from the upper portion of said crate to the lowermost wood members, each of said Wood columns having a fibreboard section secured to the inwardly facing surface thereof, each said section being scored along lines aligned with the inner edges of said wood columns to enable folding of said section along the inner edges of said wood columns, and a fibrous top having an area substantially coextensive with the cross-sectional area of said shell, said shell having flaps folded inwardly over said top, said wood columns terminating at their upper ends adjacent said flaps so as to receive and transmit a superimposed load on said crate directly to said lower wood members.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,955,107 Watkins Apr. 17, 1934 1,990,788 Kells Feb. 12, 1935 2,310,136 Van Wingen Feb. 2, 1943 2,319,641 Speier May 18, 1943 2,392,927 Kincaid Jan. 15, 1946 2,481,855 McKenzie Sept. 13, 1949 FOREIGN PATENTS 39,208 Netherlands Oct. 15, 1936 

